Heavy Metal Resource Reviews - Lordi, King Company, Sonic Syndicate, Palace, and Crazy Lixx

Index

One of the bands that I have missed in recent years. Looking at the image of this band you might peg them for something they are not. What they are is very good melodic metal with a very visual aspect to them. The whole presentation of this album seems very theatrical. 'Theaterror' seems to be a bit more melodic and the B side 'Demonarchy' is thematic and much more intense in my opinion. You can feel the album ratchet up at this point. Overall the album offers a lot of bang for your buck and a definitely will translate to the live show with a lot of visual intensity. Very interesting package overall!

Release Date: 9-30-2016

King Company offer up a good and gritty hard rock record with 'One for the Road'. In some ways it seems similar to something you would hear from bands like Whitesnake. Same general formula. Music is very good and memorable. Some of the band's members came from bands such as Kotipelto and Thunderstone and with that being said, I expected more of that sound. It is definitely more of a regular melodic hard rock with a medium tempo and very good consistency. One to plug in, kick back and just absorb. The band has been around since 2014 and this album is their debut.

Release Date: 8-26-2016

'Confessions' is a definite departure from where the band has been in the past. There are still good hard rock elements to this album, but there are also much more melodic elements here as well. The record overall to me has a much more mainstream appeal and has a pretty cool groove to it. There is a very good amount of diversity in the music. Take for instance tracks like 'Falling' and then the more rock and vibe oriented 'I Like it Rough'. Although there is a different feel to each track, the common thread is a very catchy vibe and it really runs the length of the album. Good stuff!

Release Date: 10-14-2016

Another melodic masterpiece via Frontiers Records. One of my favorite labels due to signing bands such as Palace. This band is as retro in their sound as it gets. I love this type of thing. Who would have thought that music would still be released in 2016 that is similar to a lot of the 80's melodic hard rock. This band embraces that sound and runs with it. The music is memorable and has a decent amount of rock flash to it. The band is apparently fairly young and Michael Palace has been busy recording with other bands such as First Signal. Very high quality melodic hard rock!

Release Date: 8-26-16

Obviously Crazy Lixx write very good hard rock music that would have fit in well in the thick of the 80s music scene. What we focus on in a review like this is live show interaction, track selection and overall quality of the album. The band is three for three here. The interaction is as expected and translates well in the live recording. Everything sounds good and the track selection is perfect. People may have their own preferences, but this is a good live album by a very cool band. If you aren't into the whole live thing, this probably won't change your mind, but fans of the band and hard rock fans alike will like it!

Release Date: 7-8-2016